Slumberland – Entertaining Family Adventure (Early Review)

Finding the next big IP has been a challenge plaguing studios as they look to move forward. Failing more often than not, the answer has often been to tap into existing IP whether it’s warranted or not but when they hit something, they really hit. Family-friendly content is always key especially for a streaming platform such as Netflix where they can simply gather around a screen to watch a feature. Slumberland, based on the comic series Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay, may very well be that next winner. A family-friendly adventure film, it is an entertaining watch that delivers heart, emotion, and spectacle very much on a cinematic scale except of course on a streaming service. Perhaps a touch too long, clocking in at around the 2-hour mark, it boasts an interesting premise that it only touches the surface of though more in the future would not be a shock. While the production value is certainly there, the true heart of the film is the relationship between a young girl and a mischievous clown character played by Jason Momoa and Marlow Barkley. Their dynamic is easily the best part of the film as the former clearly looks to be having a blast therefore one can’t help but have a blast right with him.

Slumberland follows a young girl named Nemo (Barkley) who stumbles upon a secret map of the mysterious world known as Slumberland in the hopes that she would see her recently-deceased father Peter (Kyle Chandler) once again. Teaming up with a ridiculous and elusive outlaw named Flip (Momoa) who had motivations of his own, the two make their way across a series of wild dreams while being chased by nightmares and others looking to stop them. Not ready to address her grief, Slumberland was an escape for Nemo and her imagination. Meanwhile, in the waking world, she struggled to adjust to a new life without her father, moving from a secluded lighthouse to the big city to live with her uncle and Peter’s estranged brother Philip (O’Dowd) who couldn’t be any more different as he found himself completely out of his element. The contrast was immediately apparent upon Nemo’s arrival to school for the first time in her life but fortunately or not, that angle of the story was essentially irrelevant as the focus of the story was unsurprisingly Nemo’s character arc for which it delivers. Mostly taking place in Slumberland, the parallels with the waking world were plain to see.

Ultimately, the bread and butter of Slumberland is Nemo and Flip’s adventures in the titular land. While there could have been more, those adventures were nonetheless a blast to watch. The dichotomy of both worlds made for some interesting transitions as it utilizes both in inventive ways. The sheer imagination on display in the variety of dreams depicted and within Slumberland as a whole was quite something to behold in terms of production design, cinematography, and special effects used to bring them to life. That being said, the film could have gone even further with it all as it seemed more concerned in broader world-building. Trying to connect the inner workings of Slumberland with that of Nemo’s real life in the waking world may not have necessarily been seamless and its premise may have completely held throughout but it still led to a fair share of earned albeit predictable emotional beats as a result of strong character work with Nemo, Flip, and Philip as the story unfolded and became something much more.

In the end, the best part of Slumberland was the aforementioned performances from Barkley and Momoa as Nemo and Flip. The two were truly the heart of the film, carrying it with their great chemistry. The undisputed lead, Barkley simply commands the screen and is instantly likable and relatable as viewers will connect to her sense of wonder while Momoa gets to show off his effortless charisma as he looks to be having an absolute blast with a bonafide scene-stealing performance. O’Dowd shines as a lovable oddball who means well as he tries to tend to his niece.

Slumberland is a nice surprise that will appeal to fantasy fans and while not perfect, will more than hit the right spot with families looking for something to watch during the weekend.

still courtesy of Netflix

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.